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310 Input Demand: The Labor and Land Markets CHAPTER OUTLINEInput Markets: Basic ConceptsDemand for Inputs: A Derived DemandInputs: Complementary and SubstitutableDiminishing ReturnsMarginal Revenue ProductLabor MarketsA Firm Using Only One Variable Factor of Production: LaborA Firm Employing Two Variable Factors of Production in the Short and Long RunMany Labor MarketsLand MarketsRent and the Value of Output Produced on LandThe Firm’s Profit-Maximizing Condition in Input MarketsInput Demand CurvesShifts in Factor Demand CurvesLooking Ahead

4Input Markets: Basic ConceptsDemand for Inputs: A Derived Demandderived demand The demand for resources (inputs) that is dependent on the demand for the outputs those resources can be used to produce.productivity of an input The amount of output produced per unit of that input.Inputs are demanded by a firm if and only if households demand the good or service provided by that firm.

5Input Markets: Basic ConceptsInputs: Complementary and SubstitutableInputs can be complementary or substitutable. Two inputs used together may enhance, or complement, each other.Diminishing Returnsmarginal product of labor (MPL) The additional output produced by 1 additional unit of labor.

7Sometimes Workers Play Hooky!E C O N O M I C S I N P R A C T I C ESometimes Workers Play Hooky!In the summer of 2010, the World Cup was held in South Africa.Spain won, but in many firms, productivity took a hit!World Cup Challenges BossesTo Minimize Productivity Drop, They Juggle Worker Schedules and Bring In TVsThe Wall Street Journal

10Labor MarketsA Firm Using Only One Variable Factor of Production: Labor FIGURE Marginal Revenue Product and Factor Demand for a Firm Using One Variable Input (Labor)A competitive firm using only one variable factor of production will use that factor as long as its marginal revenue product exceeds its unit cost.A perfectly competitive firm will hire labor as long as MRPL is greater than the going wage, W*.The hypothetical firm will demand 210 units of labor.

11Labor MarketsA Firm Using Only One Variable Factor of Production: LaborComparing Marginal Revenue and Marginal Cost to Maximize Profits FIGURE The Two Profit-Maximizing Conditions Are Simply Two Views of the Same Choice Process

12Labor MarketsA Firm Using Only One Variable Factor of Production: LaborComparing Marginal Revenue and Marginal Cost to Maximize Profits FIGURE The Trade-Off Facing FirmsFirms weigh the cost of labor as reflected in wage rates against the value of labor’s marginal product.Assume that labor is the only variable factor of production.Then, if society values a good more than it costs firms to hire the workers to produce that good, the good will be produced.

13Labor MarketsA Firm Using Only One Variable Factor of Production: LaborDeriving Input DemandsCalculating the marginal product of a variable input (labor) and marginal revenue product is essentially the same for both big corporations and small proprietorships.Workers are hired because the entrepreneur expects that their current efforts will produce future revenue greater than their wage costs.

14Labor MarketsA Firm Employing Two Variable Factors of Production in the Short and Long RunIn firms employing just one variable factor of production, a change in the price of that factor affects only the demand for the factor itself. When more than one factor can vary, however, we must consider the impact of a change in one factor price on the demand for other factors as well.

17Labor MarketsA Firm Employing Two Variable Factors of Production in the Short and Long RunSubstitution and Output Effects of a Change in Factor Pricefactor substitution effect The tendency of firms to substitute away from a factor whose price has risen and toward a factor whose price has fallen.output effect of a factor price increase (decrease) When a firm decreases (increases) its output in response to a factor price increase (decrease), this decreases (increases) its demand for all factors.

18Labor Markets Many Labor MarketsIf labor markets are competitive, the wages in those markets are determined by the interaction of supply and demand.As we have seen, firms will hire workers only as long as the value of their product exceeds the relevant market wage.This is true in all competitive labor markets.

19Land Marketsdemand-determined price The price of a good that is in fixed supply; it is determined exclusively by what households and firms are willing to pay for the good.pure rent The return to any factor of production that is in fixed supply. FIGURE The Rent on Land IsDemand DeterminedBecause land in general (and each parcel in particular) is in fixed supply, its price is demand determined.Graphically, a fixed supply is represented by a vertical, perfectly inelastic supply curve.Rent, R0, depends exclusively on demand—what people are willing to pay.

20Land Markets Rent and the Value of Output Produced on LandA firm will pay for and use land as long as the revenue earned from selling the product produced on that land is sufficient to cover the price of the land.Stated in equation form, the firm will use land up to the point at which MRPA = PA, where A is land (acres).

21Time Is Money: European High-Speed TrainsE C O N O M I C S I N P R A C T I C ETime Is Money: European High-Speed TrainsIn the past few years, many parts of Europe have invested in high-speed trains.The rise in land value following is another example of the importance of the opportunity cost of time.As train speeds increase, the time cost of living far from one’s workplace decreases; the natural result is an increased willingness to live far from one’s workplace and thus an increase in outlying land values.High-Speed Rail Give Short-Haul Air a Run for the Money in Europe, with More Flexible Travel, Greater Comfort, Lower Environmental ImpactTravel Industry News

23Input Demand Curves Shifts in Factor Demand CurvesThe Demand for OutputsIf product demand increases, product price will rise and marginal revenue product (factor demand) will increase—the MRP curve will shift to the right. If product demand declines, product price will fall and marginal revenue product (factor demand) will decrease—the MRP curve will shift to the left.The Quantity of Complementary and Substitutable InputsThe production and use of capital enhances the productivity of labor and normally increases the demand for labor and drives up wages.

24Input Demand Curves Shifts in Factor Demand CurvesThe Prices of Other InputsWhen a firm has a choice among alternative technologies, the choice it makes depends to some extent on relative input prices.Technological Changetechnological change The introduction of new methods of production or new products intended to increase the productivity of existing inputs or to raise marginal products.

25Looking AheadTo show the connection between output and input markets, this chapter examined the three fundamental decisions profit-maximizing firms make from the perspective of input markets.The next chapter takes up the complexity of what we have been loosely calling the “capital market.”Once we examine the nature of overall competitive equilibrium in Chapter 12, we can finally begin relaxing some of the assumptions that have restricted the scope of our inquiry—most importantly, the assumption of perfect competition in input and output markets.